I’m sure she is a very nice person. Mrs Graham likely has all the best intents and inclinations. However, unfortunately I have strong reservations that Republicans can hold that South Carolina senate seat if Darline Graham goes into a general election against a Democrat candidate.
The special election debate between Darline Graham and Ralph Norman was tonight hosted by Newsmax. The full debate is below the fold, but here’s a sample that might be awkward to watch.
Mrs. Darline Graham is currently serving in office as the appointed Republican Senator from South Carolina.
Full debate below:
.
Unfortunately as much as republicans keep wanting to play games they must retain the congress.
Must they?
We think they must.
I’m unsure Congressional Republicans feel the same, remembering all to vividly the 2018 midterms when double digit numbers of them “retired to be with their families” or some other lame reason because of their President Trump animus.
To me it was obvious.
We are not represented by honourable, oath following men and women.
In truth, we are not represented at all, and that’s just a hard, cold fact.
Agreed, Betsy! The overwhelming majority of “elected”gummint officials are weak uninformed people. They are easily tempted and intimidated by the churning machine in Washington DC that runs to enrich its denizens. Scarcely one of them have the character to stand against the tsunami of power hits them. The glitter of riches and power soon overtake them and their entire mission is converted from serving constituents to enriching themselves.
I wish I could disagree.
There are a couple with whom I am familiar whom I believe do not fit that description….Tennessean Tim Burchett and Texan Brandon Gill. I’m sure there are a couple more whose names I do not know.
But otherwise?
“All that glitters is not gold.”
Try telling that to the rest.
Yikes. If she prevails, the next debate panel during the general will have a field day and it will be this type of answer over and over.
Wrong endorsement this time.
The expectation that Lindsey’s little sister would know a dam thing about foreign policy is ludicrous on its face.
The only real question before SC voters is whether Lindsey’s little sister supports domestic policy that they support or does the Nikki Haley wing of republican’ts better represent you?
The ins/outs of foreign policy is the President’s job.
Disagree. I could have answered that question. That is part of being a Senator.
Congratulations but you’re not on the ballot. Treehouse dwellers are unusually well informed.
That isn’t true of a vast swath of the electorate.
“part of being a Senator.” How many times do the voters really get a true and complete answer we question our supposed leaders? Senators, along with the House Reps, must take a course in double speak and obfuscation as they excel at dodging questions. They are all damn good at it. While, not what the public wanted to hear, Ms Ghram gave a very honest answer. She will either take a speed course in double-speak, or she will fail out. Anyway, we can all “circle back to that” question later. (sarc)
Disagree, I would vote for her over an establishment candidate!
Is she electable? Her name, voter loyalty and propaganda sometimes out ways a Senator’s policy. How many voters listened to debate? USA has a significant number of senators who are liars, fools and bandits…bill
He’s got a lot of wrong endorsements. We’re going to get Cassidy 2.0 in Letlow in LA.
Yikes! Did Biden prep her for this debate?
I’d like to know the names of the people in the administration that encouraged or supported the idea to endorse Darline.
The first second of hearing about the endorsement it was an obvious mistake and missed opportunity.
Donald trump
Susie Wiles.
Trump has a record of this and it’s not a good one! Is his judgement really that bad or is something else going on?
Something else….too many issues showing he is either ill informed (wiles) or has abandoned MAGA principles and promises. Dont know what caused the abandoned part.
I don’t think he has abandoned MAGA so it must be ill informed, especially with Wiles and others.
A one term president can do as he wishes providing he doesn’t step on corporate toes. He has nothing to lose. History will be written by those who write history and not by those who lived through it and know truth from fiction.
The problem is that he loves having regular commonsense folks around during the campaign, but never brings them in as an advisor in the actual administration! He discards them, & it’s dangerous as hell.
A choice…you want the gun or a knife?.
are we insane.. her brother died. it was a good move to do in the exact manner he has done it. nothing changed, there is no issue. the media gets to say he is an idiot, thats it. no reason we should
She gets a Senate seat because her crappy-record brother died?
Same thing with Louisiana senator Hale Boggs in 1972. Following his presumed death, his wife, Lindy Boggs, won his seat in a special election and served in Congress for nearly two decades.
Maybe we could ask Jared Kushner? Or Whitkof? And yeah – Wiles?
Yet another repug cluster……pathetic
name recognition over policy. She is not ready for the big leagues.
sheeeee doesnt neeed a policyyyyyyyyyyyyyy. senators dont do shit but vote per the direction pushed. if she is a yes woman for him then thats more effective than policy.
But what if she is not?
Which may be why Lisa Murkowski supports her. Fact is, we never knew which direction the flaky Lindsey Graham would go on any issue. Why should we believe his little sister would not try to play the same wet finger in the air strategy in the Senate? South Carolina would support anyone President Trump would want. He wants Lindsey’s sister, but I don’t understand why. Maybe Trump should explain why he endorsed her, so us real people can understand it.
One thing I do know is that Thune and the rest of the McConnell gang will have to be disposed of before anything good will come from the Senate anyway. Why do the Repugs continue to self destruct as they cling to their power? Politicians live in a completely different world from the rest of us, I reckon. Their problems seem similar to those of preachers, musicians, and Hollywood actors and I have never understood them either.
Why are you surprised or just curious? Trump encouraged her to run for her brother’s seat because he believed she could win mainly due to sympathy votes and would remain loyal to him.
What matters most is that this SC Senate seat remains Republican.
Not true
Of course, she was not prepared
didn’t expect her to be
however, if one votes democrat
the country is lost
if one votes republican
there is a chance
Voting Democrat these days is like playing Russian roulette! Chances are that it won’t turn out good.
If history is any lesson at all; the next Democrat win = financial depression, civil war, race wars, foreigners waging guerilla wars on American soil, desecration of all ancient and revered America government, laws, culture and peoples!
5 rounds are in the gun if you vote democrat.
6 bullets, wvvet, as Vigilant Veteran notes.
It’s no longer Russian Roulette. It’s straight up suicidal.
Only if you fully load the revolver. Voting DemokkkRAT these days is an indication of treason and or insanity.
There is NO chance that things would turn out good. None. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Nicht. Nein.
WD Kirk: “Voting Democrat these days is like playing Russian roulette!”
With 6 bullets in the chambers instead of 1
…with a fully loaded gun!
the little jerks who vote in DSA/dem, will be gobsmacked when they are told where to live, what to eat, what phone to have, what to drive or not drive, not to get their nails/tattoos/hair done, etc etc,,,will be a cold reckoning on them, but we will have to suffer also
But we will suffer in re-education camps until they run out of our money to spend. Then we will be eliminated, as they like to say. Did I fail to mention that this would mean I won’t last long at all? The Demcommies leave the rest of us no choices at all. There can be no more fence sitting and wringing of hands if our Country is to survive.
And that right there is the problem.
Not that you expected Darline to not be prepared (and she didn’t fail you), but that she was not taken under someone else’s wings and given lessons in public speaking, current day events, the party line, or any number of issues that could be big time got-yous during a debate.
How could Darline not know the importance of Taiwan and the South China Sea? How could she not have studied current day events, even without someone else holding her hand, in order to give an answer other than that which a Democrat usually gives? Heck, Darline seemed to copy Mrs. Emhoff’s type of answers when she started talking about what other people in her family did instead of giving an answer.
When I worked with the military they were all required to know current history. A United States Senator who doesn’t know current and past history is useless.
PDJT is supporting her candidacy with an endorsement but little else it seems.
That’s a strategic misstep that should not have happened.
Someone on here wrote a comment a few days ago that I think tells us a lot about what our President does.
They said that President Trump is faithful to his friends.
That’s a wonderful thing.
It is too bad, though, that President Trump is a far better friend to others than they ever seem to be to him.
Being faithful to friends is great; being America First is essential
And absent that foundational history and world politic, how is she different from dimwits like AOC? Or… those many others ? Ugh! We don’t need a too gleeful lean across the Ike mmoosh! We need champions of liberty!
Amen to that, Is, amen to that.
She was preparing for a funeral, mourning, moving day, get house in SC set up for extended absence,
I guess she had nothing to do but get ready for a debate /s
Every day, all day long, people live through sorrows and tragic circumstances.
Most people are able to continue in the things of life while walking through the valley of the shadow of death, even when the person who died is even closer than a sibling.
Many husbands continue on without their wife, and many parents continue on without a child.
Preparing for a funeral can be done while listening to books on tape (if Darline is so uninformed about geopolitical events), or listening to a podcast about current events.
Not having enough time to get ready for a debate is an excuse, and getting her house ready for an extended absence seems like the wrong thing to spend her time on, especially hearing the answer she gave above. She can be ready to move, but if she doesn’t have an intelligent answer to give on world affairs, she’s not going to be moving.
People handle grief in many different ways.
Then don’t run.
Reminds me of the time I called Mark Warner’s office, the staffer I spoke with had not heard of or knew nothing about Fallujah Iraq, literally in the moment our Marines were in full battle in that city. He got a very irritated earful from me, by the time the call was over I assure you he learned a few things about Fallujah. It really is stunning how little they know outside their silos.
Ideological partisans vote this way. We do it. Dems have theirs too. But there’s a wide chunk of the electorate that just looks around at “how things are” and votes for an alternative if they think things suck. The optics of Trump’s second term have been really bad. From Epstein to the tariff rollouts / TACO, bad cabinet picks, cost of living issues, and a totally needless war in Iran. Not a good position to be in come november when your opponent runs on being Santa Claus.
It’s a really frustrating time. Trump has gone from being the standard bearer for “America First” to possibly being its undoing. The next two election cycles are going to be bumpy I’m afraid.
Why should Senators be expected to be experts on national security? Isn’t their meddling in international affairs part of the problem?
Hmmm. What are Senators expert in, I wonder?
Bending over for their donors & “friends across the aisle?”
Junket tours to whomever is winning a lot of foreign aid from the US!
Issues concerning the state they represent….that would be a nice change.
Your awareness of that situation is astoundingly clear. Why should the treasonous senate be so apt in foreign affairs?
President Trumps endorsement is out of friendship and respect to a fallen friend. Let the populace make its choice in the voting booth. President Trump will continue to lead even if his candidate fails.
Because the senate is the body with the advise and consent role for appointments and treaties.
If National Security is not her thing, that means she wants to focus on domestic affairs, God, help us.
Maybe she will let the Senate go into recess so Trump can make recess appointments.
Wow. She cant even spin something about projecting strategic power or supporting our allies in the region like the Philippines, Korea, Japan, and Taiwan
I listened to the whole debate. There is something at times very glib about Congressman Norman. With Darlene Nordon she keeps saying she supports and trusts President Trump. That is her strong suit. With a one time debate like this it’s difficult to pick your way through the claims each person is making.
If Norman did give money to support a Democrat, he could have explained why he did it.
If Nordone is taking money from 2 Democrat PACs, a seemingly BIG DEAL,she didn’t explain why or admit that she knew that was happening.
I see that debate as proving we are between a rock and a hard place in S.C.
Seems like that is exactly where SC voters are.
Trust Trump or Trust the Nikki Haley RepubliCONs.
Correct
Norman will be the nominee…and he is very supportive of President Trump.
There is no explanation for donating $ to a democrat, not by a republican pol.
Ruh-Roh.
In fairness, there are dozens of senators who could give a great answer–but they’re all on China’s payroll and stink of Treason.
But they could give a great answer.
Holy krap!! I knew the answer!!!
try it under pressure
The expectation that Lindsey’s little sister would know a dam thing about foreign policy is ludicrous on its face.
The only real question before SC voters is whether Lindsey’s little sister supports domestic policy that they support or does the Nikki Haley wing of republican’ts better represent you?
The ins/outs of foreign policy isn’t the Senate’s job, it’s the President’s job.
Agree , word is Norman supports amnesty for illegal immigrants. Non starter for me . Elect Graham . I would prefer Nancy Mace .
Folks these people saying Norman supports amnesty for illegals are either bots for the Dem PAC’s or completely uninformed, and not from SC.
The expectation was that someone/anyone on the Graham campaign staff would have prepped her. She came off as weak, uninformed and entitled. Do you happen to be employed by one of the Democratic PACs supporting Darline?
Not another southern belle in the senate! She should still be in deep mourning over her brother’s death.
Hhere in Louisiana, we may send a woman to the Senate who “got” the seat of her deceased husband who was running for the House. Two small babies at the time. Disagreed with it at the time and won’t state her name here.
Was he the north Louisiana gentleman that died from Covid complications?
I’m sure she is great person too. But nobody wants bloodline politics.
I want whoever wants MAGA.
If they happen to be of any particular political bloodline… I DON’T CARE, I STILL WANT MAGA.
i know right. this honor bullshit is why we get bent over. we need yes men now.
The way things are going this autumn is shaping up as the fall of the republic.
Citizen of the Former Republic: “The way things are going this autumn is shaping up as the fall of the republic.”
It is becoming more apparent with each passing week that the MAGA movement must begin preparing for a massive defeat in the fall mid-terms and come to some conclusion as to how to recover momentum after that defeat has been suffered.
Why is this slow-moving disaster happening?
The most fundamental reason is that Donald Trump has been co-opted by the GOP Establishment and by the NeoCons.
The mid-terms will be decided by voter base turnout. The strong vibe I get from those around me inside the MAGA voter base is that Donald Trump has betrayed the movement he himself founded by getting America involved in another endless Middle East war, by not moving decisively to find and deport illegal immigrants, by waiting too long to deal with election fraud, and by not moving aggressively against the Deep State bureaucracy in the CIA, the DOJ, and the FBI.
Once again, the big question becomes, how does the MAGA movement recover from this looming disaster, and what can be done to save the Republic when the left takes over?
It doesn’t recover. If fuel and grocery prices don’t come down before Nov., we are in trouble. The economy outlook may be great on paper but have you been to the grocery store lately. With high grocery and fuel prices people don’t see a good economy.
Yesterday gas was $3.35 depending what part of the county, today it was back up to $3.99, some places $4.15. Groceries are out of control and all the items in main stream stores are full of toxic modified food products.
My take is similar. “This isn’t what I voted for” seems to be the recurring theme among the people I talked to who were ebullient just after the last election.
Because his policies are so broadly popular, Trump can win despite – most of the time – acting like an oafish asshat. But he has stepped on some VERY big rakes in the last two years. Some of them could be overcome, but the “just kidding” on Epstein and the unforced error of Iran and his perceived indifference to prices really sets the Dems up nicely heading into the fall. It’s starting to look a bit like 2006.
Pity is not a strong reason to vote for a Senator.
If they are for MAGA they are.
Local SC Upstate conservative commentators I listen to do not buy that she is MAGA in any way.
The fact that Lisa Murkowski and Dem Jim Clyburn endorsed her is all we in SC need to know.
Ouch!!…..Now I know how the dems truly felt on June 28th, 2024.
I agree with he who Dances with the Sun. She’s no doubt a decent person and a patriot, but MAGA must put forth the best qualified and brightest. Lindsay was a tower of strength on military, security, and geo-politics. VERY BIG shoes to fill .
Tough love is required. No doubt Bibi was ringing our VSGPDJT mere nano-seconds after watching that exchange.
Lindsey was a damn warmonger, a McCainite, a big spender & a wh0re for Ukraine. The only reason he won term after term was bc S. CA is a Open Primary state, all the gays voted for him, & the MIC LOVED him.
The Republican Party: pretending to be principled and honorable while losing gracefully and intentionally to the relentless encroachment of globalism, while globalism wears a skin suit of socialism.
We all loathed Graham! He got called a traitor by everybody at the airport after the 2020 steal. Nobody wanted her, either! SC is hopelessly corrupt. Trump just can’t help himself. He has been fooled by RINOs so many times. I’m so sick of it, but I’ve got no control over it, either. Everyday my IQ increases, because there are so many more idiots, every single day. Idiocracy is here.
“We all loathed Graham”? VSG President Trump called him a “beloved friend,” said virtually everyone liked him, and ended his eulogy with “Lindsey, we love you.” Your opinion isn’t everybody’s.
Trump doesn’t live in SC, and for him to drop everything and come running to support someone who SC knows NOTHING about makes Trump a fool. FYI, Lindsey was booed at a Trump rally in 2020 in his own home town, he was not well liked in the state, but then again he was never here. He was always in Ukraine or Israel…
One of the many things I do not like about the Democrat Party is they run obviously unqualified candidates.
At some point the President will need to back off to preserve and conserve his political capital for 2028. Otherwise he helps hasten his slide to becoming just another voice and lame duck Executive … the Uni-Party and their media buddies do not need any help beyond their current efforts on that front.
The only big influence he can have on 2026 at this point is to get out the vote … work and “rally” to get the “turn-out” and VOTE casting to the point that exceeds the normal MID-TERM 25% by a large margin to overcome the block voting, Ballot Dumping and illegal Ballot Dumping.
34.
That’s the number of Senators Trump needs to remain president. Obviously more than that to do anything. But if he doesn’t have 34 Senators who will vote against convicting him for House impeachment charges he’s out.
That’s the ONLY reason I can think of why he’d have endorsed her over Norman. He believes she would be loyal and vote against removing him from office. There are easily 17+ Rino’s/Trumphaters in the US Senate. Only constrained by fear of their voters.
If that’s the bar Trump has set for the remainder of his presidency…just…wow. An important bar. But really, really low. Wow.
a full nsa database to know the intent of every swamp creature.. and we sit here questioning his moves. insane
There’s a term for people who never question anything their leader does. I believe it is “cultist.”
I’m sure that if the day came for your leader who you never, ever, never ever ever ever would dare to question told you a passing comet would take your spirit off to a heaven-like ethereal existence for eternity if only you drank the poison at a precise moment, that you would drink the poison. Because you would never, ever, never ever ever ever question your leader.
I’ll pass. I’m not a cultist.
One would think that: Darline would have been around debates and politics while supporting her brother’s career; Darline would have inherited Lindsay Graham’s staff and political advisors; Darline would have been prepped by campaign staff on a large variety of subject matter, with sttategies on how to answer. Given the Senate’s Constitutional role in rendering Advise and Consent on treaties and foreign policy, her answer is fundamentally disqualifying. Some might argue that most Americans know and care little about foreign affairs (until something disasterous happens). They want the Presidents and Senators to do the knowing for them. I hope Ralph Norman is electable in SC.
First time I heard her speak and all I can say is F-ing embarrassing, it reaffirms the absolute stupidity of our elected officials and if Trump is endorsing this he will look like a fool. A Democrat flipped a deep red district in PA that Trump won by 18 points he better be careful with his endorsements. Sometimes STFU is the best option. The President needs to explore that option more often.
That was a special election to fill a vacancy in a PA General Assembly seat of which the town of Butler is a part of.
It doesn’t matter, all elections start local, they infiltrate one at a time and spread like a wildfire.
At least she’s honest. That’s a rare quality amongst politicians.
how do we know that?
I feel bad for her honestly. She was called to do this thing and I’m far from convinced she knew what it would mean. If elected, she would make the most convincing RINO of all. She would be convinced to do the wrong things and would be convinced she’s doing the right things.
IS there anyone at all there to coach her through this?? It’s silly.
She should have been humble enough and courageous enough to decline the call.
Yep, Murkowski will be her mentor. Murkowski wrote Darline a check for $10k. Y’all want a Murkowski to be the Senator from SC?
I hope Mrs. Darline Graham has enough self-awareness to admit she does not have the knowledge nor skill set to represent South Carolina in the US Senate. Her performance definitively proved she is not qualified.
Hopefully, she will drop out of the race soon, before she makes a bigger fool of herself as her shortcomings become more obvious.
I’m thinking she will do just that on Friday. PDJT will invite Rep. Norman and the “GOP Unity” message will echo. The middle ground will be trod.
The big tent will include the middle, unlike the Democrats big tent which seeks to pull in the kooks,
Like the Blue’s Clues guy in Michigan
and guy eating a turkey leg with a napkin in Texas.
Let’s GO, MAGA.
Her statement, “I’ve done more in 20 days then you did in 20 years,” did it for me. She, I would DEFINITELY vote for her, just in that statement alone.
You do know that Norman was one of the first sponsors of the SAVE Act in 2020, right? Vice Chair of the House Freedom Caucus. (Conservative) Votes with Conservatives and The President 95% of the time or better.
What do we know about Darline? NOTHING.
To me she sounds like a GOP Kamala Harris and has no business being one if 100 people in a nation of millions sitting in the Senate for six years. SC Upstate conservative talkshow hosts are adamantly against her. She’s an embarrassment. That she was willing to humiliate herself like this is damning in and if itself.
Why all the negativity, on this sight? I would think all us Treepers would welcome new blood, instead of the same ole same ole. Ralph Norman.
She is literally the same blood.
She’s toast. No butter, no jam, dry toast.
“I am just going to be honest here. I am not the informed on National security”
Two thing in Darline Graham’s favor here
1) she appears to be genuinely honest about her ignorance concerning National Security
2) Her deficiency in that matter is probably not nearly as great as others who posture as being capable in their kowledge.
I do not live in SC so I will not be voting for or against her ; however, in general I favor bigly integrity over the lack thereof, and for me it is ALWAYS preferable.
Yikes
She doesn’t need to know anything about foreign policy. She just needs to have her AIPAC contact’s phone number to call and find out how to vote on issues. It’s what the majority of our elected officials do.
She’s just being honest! She answered the question. If Virginia can elect a person governor for not answering questions during a debate, South Carolina can elect a person who honestly answered a question!